Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII)

experience in administering research and training programs to conduct nationwide competitive programs supporting U.S. scholars, students and institutions in advanced research and language training on the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. U.S.-based public and private nonprofit organizations and educational institutions may submit proposals for Title VIII-funded programs that 1) support and sustain American expertise on the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, 2) bring American expertise to the service of the U.S. Government, and 3) further U.S. foreign assistance and policy goals. All proposals must make an explicit connection to U.S. foreign or national security policy, and demonstrate how the proposed program will contribute to U.S. knowledge and expertise and national capability. The program also works to support outreach and build relationships with the academic and nonprofit communities. Intelligence Community analysts and State Department policy makers benefit from engagement with outside elements to explore new ideas and perspectives and create new knowledge and research. Federal grants will be awarded through an open, merit-based competition. Grantee organizations will then conduct competitions for students, scholars, and specialists. The purpose of this request for proposals is to inform potential applicant organizations of programmatic, procedural and funding information for the fiscal year 2012 Title VIII grants competition. We request that applicants read the entire announcement before addressing inquiries to the Office of Outreach. Proposals from individuals or institutions and organizations to fund their own projects, i.e., projects that are not national in scope and/or do not involve open, merit-based recruitment of participants, will not be considered. Mission Statements: U.S. Department of State ? To create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community. Bureau of Intelligence and Research ? To ensure that intelligence informs wise foreign policy decisions and effectively supports U.S. foreign policy objectives. Title VIII Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union - To develop and maintain high-quality research and training programs critical to the national security of the United States, the furtherance of its national interests in the conduct of foreign relations, and the prudent management of its domestic affairs. Definitions: For the purposes of this Request for Grant Proposal (RFGP), the following terms are defined below. Applicant: an eligible U.S.-based public or private nonprofit organization/educational institution submitting a proposal to the State Department for funding consideration under this RFGP. Grantee Organization: an applicant organization that is awarded a State Department grant. End-User: an eligible individual indentified by a grantee organization to receive a Title VIII-sponsored fellowship to conduct research and/or receive training. icPORT: the Title VIII database for collecting and storing program data including statistics, products, and artifacts. This database exists solely for the purposes of academic outreach. I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION AUTHORITY: Grant making authority for the Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII) is contained in the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983 (22 U.S.C. 4501-4508, as amended.) PURPOSE: Congress determined that independently verified factual knowledge about the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia is critical to the national security of the United States, the furtherance of its national interests in the conduct of foreign relations, and the prudent management of its domestic affairs. Congress further concluded that providing a stable and dedicated source of financial support for Title VIII functions supplementing other Federal, State, local, regional, and private sector funding is critical to maintaining this important research and training on a long-term, national scale. The development and maintenance of U.S. expertise on these regions depends upon a national capability for advanced research by highly trained specialists with in-country experience. These specialists are a national resource available for service in and out of Government. In order to guarantee the existence of that knowledge and the capability to sustain it, certain essential functions are necessary, including: a. graduate training; b. advanced research; c. public dissemination of research data, methods, and findings; d. contact and collaboration among Government and private specialists; and e. American specialists? firsthand experience of the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, including on-site advanced training and research to the extent practicable. OBJECTIVES: All applicants must explicitly state in writing their understanding of and commitment to achieve the following objectives: ? Support U.S. citizen participants only; ? Support and sustain American expertise in the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia through language training and/or comprehensive research opportunities for Title VIII fellows; ? Provide critical on-site support and access to local resources for Title VIII fellows at all levels, but especially younger scholars conducting research on policy relevant topics and/or engaging in language training; ? Bring American expertise to the service of the U. S. Government by encouraging Title VIII fellows to pursue careers, internships, or short-term sabbaticals during and/or after their overseas program; ? Assist State Department efforts to raise awareness of the Title VIII program through comprehensive outreach and reporting by: o Using the Department?s standard data themes in icPORT; o Promoting participants? experiences and research findings through presentations and briefings in the U.S.; o Disseminating final research results within the academic and government policy communities; and o Communicating regularly with the State Department. All applicants must explicitly state in writing their understanding of and commitment to the PURPOSE and OBJECTIVES of the Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII). SCOPE OF WORK: All applicants must include a ?SCOPE OF WORK? (SOW). The SOW will be a stand-alone single-page document. The SOW shall be a list in outline form of the specific program components proposed, with a brief (1-2 sentence description) of what each component entails and which of the aforementioned OBJECTIVE(s) it addresses. The SCOPE OF WORK must include anticipated results in terms of outputs and outcomes. II. AWARD INFORMATION: Type of Award: New Grant Agreement Fiscal Year Funds: FY 2012 Approximate Total Funding: Pending availability of funds Approximate Average Award: Awards are dependent upon the availability of funding, scope of work, number of proposed fellowships, and volume of activities Anticipated Award Date: Pending availability of funds, September 2012 III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: Eligible Applicants: Applications may be submitted by U.S.-based public or private nonprofit organizations/educational institutions meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3). Only one proposal may be submitted by any organization. Technical Eligibility: Technically eligible submissions are those that: 1) INR receives (via Grantsolutions.gov or Grants.gov) prior to the deadline established in this solicitation; 2) follow all instructions contained herein, including those relating to formatting and completeness of submission; and 3) do not violate any of the guidelines stated in this document. Applications must be received by the due date indicated in this solicitation (see ?Application Deadline?). Those applications received after the due date will be considered ineligible. IV. APPLICATION PROCESS: Submission Instructions: All applications must be submitted via www.grantsolutions.gov OR www.grants.gov by 11:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Friday, March 2, 2012. The State Department has a strong preference for proposals to be submitted through www.grantsolutions.gov. Since awards are administered exclusively with this system, grant recipients must use grantsolutions.gov to accept and manage their Title VIII grants. INR will not accept proposals submitted via email, fax, the postal system, delivery companies, or couriers. Please note that once the RfGP deadline has passed, State Department staff may not discuss this competition with applicants until the proposal review process has been completed. Applicants are strongly encouraged to initiate the electronic application process early, and to submit proposals before the due date. This will aid in addressing any problems with submissions prior to the application deadline. No exceptions will be made for organizations that have not completed the necessary steps to submit applications to www.grantsolutions.gov or www.grants.gov. All applicants MUST upload the following documents as separate attachments: A. Standard Forms: 1. SF 424 - Application for Federal Assistance Award 2. SF 424A - Budget 3. SF 424B ? Assurances 4. SF LLL ? Lobbying Form (if applicable) B. Proposal Documents: 1. Single-page Scope of Work (includes all proposed program components and links each of these to the specific Title VIII goal(s) it addresses. It should also include expected outputs, outcomes and indicators of success). 2. Single-page Executive Summary. 3. Narrative (Not to exceed 20 Pages with the following specifications: 12pt. font, Times New Roman, double spaced, one-sided). 4. Budget (see VIII, Technical Format for details). Applicants are required to submit a budget overview and a detailed budget. Recipients of previous awards shall submit a six-column budget. First time applicants and organizations which have not received an assistance award from the INR during the past three years, shall submit a four-column budget. 5. Budget Notes (referenced by line item number and line item descriptor). 6. Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). 7. Most recent Single or A-133 Audit. 8. Addenda - Additional Documents as Needed. GrantSolutions.gov Applications: Applicants are encouraged to submit applications via www.grantsolutions.gov. Interested organizations using GrantSolutions for the first time must register on the www.GrantSolutions.gov site to create a new Applicant account as soon as possible. The Applicant must complete this registration before the application can be submitted. To register with GrantSolutions follow the ?First Time Applicants? link and complete the ?GrantSolutions New Applicant Sign Up? application form. Organizations that have previously used www.GrantSolutions.gov do not need to register again. If an organization that has previously used www.GrantSolutions.gov is not able to access the system, please contact Customer Support (see contact information below). A valid Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number IS required for submission of an application on GrantSolutions.gov. Organizations should verify that they have a DUNS number or take the steps needed to obtain one as soon as possible. Instructions for obtaining a DUNS number can be found at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. A Central Contractor Registration (CCR) number IS NOT required prior to submitting an application via GrantSolutions.gov. Electronic applications submitted via the GrantSolutions system must contain all completed online forms and the Proposal documents specified by the application kit. No additional documents should be uploaded. The preferred document formats for the uploaded proposal documents are PDF or .docx (accordingly budgets are acceptable in either PDF or Excel). Applicants should wait until the upload shows the status as ?Successful? before moving to the next part of the application kit. Upon completion of a successful electronic application submission, the GrantSolutions system will provide the applicant with a confirmation page indicating the date and time (Eastern Time) of the electronic application submission as well as an official Application Number. This confirmation page will also provide a listing of all items that constitute the final application submission. For assistance with GrantSolutions.gov please contact Customer Support at help@grantsolutions.gov or call 1-800-577-0771 (toll charges for international callers) or 1-202-401-5282. Customer Support is available 8 AM ? 6 PM EST, Monday ? Friday. Grants.gov Applications: Applicants who choose not to submit applications via GrantSolutions.gov must submit via www.grants.gov. A valid DUNS number and a CCR number ARE BOTH required prior to submitting an application via Grants.gov. Organizations should verify that they have a DUNS number or take the steps needed to obtain one as soon as possible. Instructions for obtaining a DUNS number can be found at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. Instructions for registering with CCR can be found at https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx. An organization must wait approximately 3-5 business days after registering with the CCR before the organization may obtain a username and password for Grants.gov. This may delay the organization?s ability to submit a Statement of Interest through www.grants.gov. In addition, CCR registration must be updated annually to maintain a valid registration. Upon completion of a successful electronic application submission on Grants.gov, the applicant will receive an email confirmation that the application has been successfully submitted and is in the process of verification. The applicant will then receive another email confirming that the application has been verified. Both emails are provided by grants.gov to verify receipt of an application. For assistance with Grants.gov, please call the Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or email support@grants.gov. The Contact Center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except federal holidays. Application Deadline: All applications must be submitted on or before Friday, March 2, 2012, 11:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Applications submitted after 11:30 p.m. will be ineligible for consideration. Begin the application process early, as this will allow time to address any technical difficulties that may arise in advance of the deadline. Faxed proposals will not be accepted at any time. Late applications will not be considered. It is the applicant?s responsibility to ensure that proposals are delivered on time. V. PROGRAM INFORMATION: INR seeks proposals that clearly and succinctly outline plans to implement graduate, postdoctoral, and teaching fellowships for advanced training and research programs on the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia and related cross-border studies. The proposed program must: a. align with the program PURPOSE and OBJECTIVES above; b. respond to the RATING CRITERIA listed below; c. be conducted on a shared-cost basis by U.S.-based public and private nonprofit organizations and educational institutions; d. outline clearly the plan to disseminate program information and solicit applications; e. discuss and demonstrate the applicant?s process of identifying, vetting and awarding fellowships to qualified end-users who are best suited to achieve the Title VIII PURPOSE and OBJECTIVES; and f. outline the plan to disseminate research, data, and findings on the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia and related cross-border areas to best achieve the Title VIII PURPOSE and OBJECTIVES. Funding Shall: a. support U.S. citizen participants only; b. provide fellowship and research support for U.S. specialists on the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia and related cross-border fields to conduct advanced research, with particular emphasis on the use of quantitative data on those countries; c. support seminars, conferences, and other similar workshops to facilitate collaboration between Government and private specialists on the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia and cross-border issues; d. facilitate access for U.S. specialists to research institutes, personnel, archives, documentation, and other research and training resources located in Eastern Europe and Eurasia; e. support training in the languages of Eastern Europe and Eurasia and relevant cross-border languages. Such support should include grants to individuals to pursue training and to summer language institutes operated by institutions of higher education. Preference shall be given for critical language studies and, as appropriate, studies of other languages of strategic importance across the regions; and f. support other research and training on the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia not otherwise described in this section if tied to the program purpose, including outreach efforts to student populations in order to p